Sports category, Page 537

Michael Bunting wasted zero time joining the Pittsburgh Penguins. The former Carolina Hurricanes forward, dealt to the Penguins late Thursday night in exchange for star winger Jake Guentzel, departed Raleigh early Friday morning. Upon landing in Pittsburgh, Bunting promptly made the trek out to the Penguins’ facility in Cranberry, where...

Soon after the Pittsburgh Penguins took to the ice at their practice facility Friday in Cranberry, the reason for defenseman Chad Ruhwedel’s absence soon became apparent. Shortly after noon, a few hours in advance of the NHL trade deadline, the Penguins announced Ruhwedel had been traded to the New York...

Center Mitch Morse, who was released by the Buffalo Bills in a salary-cap move Wednesday, is scheduled to meet with the Pittsburgh Steelers before the start of NFL free agency next week, according to a league source. Morse, who turns 32 in April, spent the past five seasons in Buffalo...

The “legal tampering” period for NFL unrestricted free agency — during which teams are free to contact players on expired contracts — begins Monday. As such, TribLive will take a look at each of the Steelers’ 17 players from last season who are free agents, and why (or why not)...

The Pittsburgh Steelers released veteran defensive back Patrick Peterson on Friday, according to a source. Nobody was on the field for the Steelers more often this past season than Peterson, who led the team in both defensive snaps played (1,096) and overall snaps (1,173 including special teams). A likely future...

Nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback Russell Wilson met with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday as he prepares to become an unrestricted free agent. ESPN and NFL Network reported Wilson’s visit, which was confirmed by TribLive via a league source. Wilson reportedly met with the New York Giants on Thursday. Steelers coach...

Jake Guentzel was traded away from the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Metropolitan Division rival Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday. In return, general manager Kyle Dubas got one established NHL forward in Michael Bunting. The rest of the return was three prospects (Ville Koivunen, Vasily Ponomarev and Cruz Lucius) and conditional first-round...

If Russell Wilson arrives for his meeting with the Pittsburgh Steelers and is asked by coach Mike Tomlin to compete with Kenny Pickett for the No. 1 quarterback job, Wilson should laugh in Tomlin’s face and walk out. Yet, by all accounts, that’s the scenario Wilson will be presented with....

As the Duquesne basketball team prepares for its regular-season finale against George Washington on Saturday, head coach Keith Dambrot is not yet ready to say if it will be his last home game as the leader of the Dukes’ program. Dambrot is 65 years old and has won 523 NCAA...

In Friday’s “First Call,” we have some fallout on the Jake Guentzel trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Carolina Hurricanes. We also have comments from Mitch Trubisky on his departure from Pittsburgh, news of Kevin Dotson’s whopper of a new contract in Los Angeles, and details of Chuks Okorafor’s...

The “legal tampering” period for NFL unrestricted free agency — during which teams are free to contact players on expired contracts — begins Monday. As such, TribLive will take a look at each of the Steelers’ 17 players from last season who are free agents, and why (or why not)...

For the moment, let’s set aside talk and speculation about Pitt’s NCAA Tournament hopes and dreams and concentrate on four hours coming up Saturday night. Three ACC games will be contested between 6 and 10 p.m. The results will impact where Pitt lands in the ACC’s final standings and whether...

When Braxton Ashcraft made his Grapefruit League debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the right-hander wasted no time filling up the strike zone with his fastball against one of baseball’s best sluggers. Four of Ashcraft’s first five pitches to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. were four-seamers, including one clocked at 98.2 mph over...

Coming off a historic year in which the Pittsburgh Riverhounds won its first USL Championship Players’ Shield as the top team in the regular season, there will be changes. Key members of last season’s club Albert Dikwa, the USL Player of the Year, and Arturo Ordonez, the USL Defender of...

The trade of popular winger Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes for a package of players and draft picks left a sour taste in the mouths of many Penguins fans Thursday night. Imagine how the folks at The Milkshake Factory felt. The sweet shop with 11 locations in Western Pennsylvania...

When the Pittsburgh Penguins first brought Jake Guentzel to the NHL roster in November of 2016, it was because of injury. Chris Kunitz, arguably the best winger the franchise had attached to franchise center Sidney Crosby up until that point, landed on injured reserve. His convalescence prompted management to summon...

It’s been one of the NHL’s fiercest rivalries for the better part of three decades. And the state of the bellicose union between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals remains strong these days, even if the two once-vaunted outfits aren’t considered strong candidates for the Stanley Cup. Or even the...

LOWELL, Mass. — With an early-season PWHL game between Montreal and Boston winding down, the speakers blared the 1980s hit that had Olivia Newton-John singing “Let’s get physical.” And that’s just what the players did. In a break from previous top professional women’s hockey leagues, the PWHL has written into...

As the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals closed in on puck drop Thursday at PPG Paints Arena, significant traction was reported regarding a trade of injured winger Jake Guentzel. Several NHL insiders said Guentzel, 29, was close to being dealt to the Carolina Hurricanes. Neither club has confirmed the trade....

ORLANDO, Fla. — Shane Lowry knew he was playing good golf because he gave himself a chance to win last week. He also knew his record at Bay Hill was as bad as any course he has played. Good form won out Thursday in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Lowry made...

CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears and Pro Bowl cornerback Jaylon Johnson agreed Thursday to a four-year, $76 million contract that guarantees him $54.4 million. Two people familiar with the situation confirmed the financial terms of the deal, which was first reported by the NFL Network. “We’re extremely excited to be...

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos are releasing safety Justin Simmons in the fallout from the Russell Wilson separation, according to multiple reports. Simmons immediately becomes one of the best veterans available when free agency begins next week. A second-team All-Pro in four of his last five seasons, Simmons intercepted...

With one sleep left before the NHL trade deadline, the Toronto Maple Leafs joined the party Thursday by bulking up on defense, while two Western Conference Stanley Cup contenders made more moves to improve in crucial areas. Colorado acquired a pair of versatile forwards from Central Division rivals, Brandon Duhaime...